Specialty tire wholesaler Gallagher Tire celebrates 50th anniversary

LEVITTOWN, Pa. — Gallagher Tire Inc. is marking its 50th year as a family-owned business that has thrived as a specialty tire wholesaler after getting its start as a retail tire store.

"We're very excited and pleased to obviously still be in business with all the crazy things that have gone on over these 50 years," said J.P. Gallagher, the second generation in his family to run the business and the third generation involved in the tire industry.

His grandfather, Jack Gallagher, was a sales representative for Dayton Tire, and he encouraged his two sons, Jack and Robert, to open a retail tire store "knowing he would have a good customer, and they would have the right pricing. That's really how Gallagher Tire started," the younger Mr. Gallagher said.

Gallagher Tire opened in 1968 in a two-bay garage in Bristol, Pa., initially selling passenger tires, particularly the original Armstrong brand, to the local community.

J.P. Gallagher doesn't recall what prompted the transition to specialty wholesale tires in the early 1980s, when he was a child. The company, run by his late father Jack, began selling backhoe and skid-steer tires, eventually abandoned the Bristol location and three service stations in northeast Philadelphia and moving its headquarters in Levittown.

He said that was probably the biggest challenge the company faced — shifting away from consumer tires while trying to generate the sales volumes necessary to sustain the business. "That was tough for my dad for a while," he said.

Today the distributor operates three warehouses, in Levittown and Harrisburg, Pa., and Liverpool, N.Y., to distribute to customers along the East Coast and into the Midwest.

In 1996 J.P. Gallagher joined the business and took over running the business in 2003 when his father semi-retired.

"The biggest accomplishment has really been being able to continue the relationships that my father started 50 years ago. We have customers we've been dealing with for 40-plus years," Mr. Gallagher said.

"That, to me, has been special, that we've been able to maintain the relationships and also grow our business and develop new ones and retain many employees for decades. We're a small company, as far as headcount goes, where we have under 50 employees, but I have multiple employees that have been with us for 20-plus years."

Those relationships paid off when the company's tire warehouse in Bristol burned down in 1980 in an arson-related fire.

"We were borrowing inventory, borrowing warehouse space and just doing whatever we needed to do to keep the business going," he said.

Staying competitive

Today, the wholesaler focuses on providing a large variety of product.

"The vast majority of wholesalers have some inventory, whether it's trailer tires, skid-steer tires. Very few people have everything that we do, which helps separate us. But the competition is certainly out there," Mr. Gallagher said, noting he competes by "having the right products — from being able to get it to somebody at the right price in a fair amount of time, or a fair price in a right amount of time."

"Company wise we've had a few nice years of growth and are continuing to see that through 2018. With the anticipation that that is going to continue to grow as we expand our footprint with a sales force and availability of products to people up and down the East Coast and throughout the Midwest.

"The trends that we're seeing are nothing beyond what everybody else is saying. ST trailer tires are continuing to grow. The construction industry has been mediocre. There's a lot of talk about what could happen with the infrastructure plan if it's actually put into place. We are very hopeful that happens. But until then, I don't see any great growth on the construction side.

"The agriculture side has been positive for us. The brand availability that we offer from premium all the way through value-priced tires has helped us take some market share and put the right tires on the tractors that the farmers need to maintain profitability in a very tough, tough industry."

He said the company sells the most units in the lawn and garden tire category.

"Our focus is just making sure we have the right inventory for all of our customers right now. And that's a challenge in today's world of containers and less and less domestic production. Where we've been able to increase our purchases on domestic, it has helped quite a bit."

Keeping up-to-date

Mr. Gallagher said under his watch, he has tried to update the company's operations with new technology, something his father was not fond of.

Last year the wholesaler launched Tires4That.com, an online consumer tire sales website, as several tire makers began online consumer sales platforms.

"We are pleased with the growth that we've had (with Tires4that)," he said. "It's been steady. Our focus is on the wholesale side of the business and what we get on the Tires4That is something that we're happy with."

With the same modern mindset, Mr. Gallagher dispensed with the traditional on-site anniversary celebrations this year and instead celebrated virtually during the summer by offering online discounts for select vendors over a six-week period.

"With the help of ATG (Alliance), Camso, Carlisle, Titan, American Pacific Industries and American Omni Trading, we offered our customers one week to save on purchases on each brand/vendor. On top of the savings, we gave away gift cards to the top purchasers each week.

"Throughout the six weeks, we saw customers save over $35,000 in discounts, and we gave away another $16,000 in gift cards to the largest buying customers of each week. I would like to say thanks to each of those vendors for helping make our 50th a great success," Mr. Gallagher said.

"We felt this was a better use of funds rather than having an open house during some of the busiest months of the season. And frankly, a lot of people, they don't want to get in the car and drive 200 miles for free hot dogs. We'd rather put our money back into our customers' pockets," he said, adding that he planned to personally visit many customers to say "thank you."

Challenges

Mr. Gallagher said he is facing the same challenge others in the industry are dealing with: a shortage of qualified employees.

"It speaks volumes to the companies that had the foresight to really treat their employees well and make sure that they are happy because that is how you're going to continue on through the next few years," he said.

"Beyond fair pay for fair work, we like to think that we're very flexible in allowing people to spend time with their family or do such things as go to the kid's baseball games or something like that. As long as they're putting in the work in their overall schedule, then we're happy to allow them the time to really enjoy the family life because that's what everybody gets up and goes to work for is their family."

Mr. Gallagher recalled that he was reluctant to join his father's tire business in 1996 — "Let's just say my options were limited."

"My dad had wanted me to go out and to get a job. For a while I fought it. I still enjoyed the life of a waiter and the benefits of working at night. But once it came time to really decide what I wanted to do, it was a struggle to really come to the decision on my own. I eventually did make it and haven't looked back since," he said.

He was only at the helm for three years when his father died unexpectedly.

"One of the greatest joys I've ever experienced was just working with him on a daily basis— and then to have that relationship end so suddenly was…I don't wish it on anyone," he said. Fortunately, he said his parents were pro-active in making sure the business affairs were in order so in the event of a death, the family wouldn't lose the business.

At 46, Mr. Gallagher is the only family member in the business. He has three young children who he hopes one day will have an interest in joining the family business.

He offered advice to other adult children thinking about joining the family business, as he did: "Look and listen really to your parents or aunt/uncle, whoever it may be. And just really pay attention to how they are running the business. But also be aware that you're going to have to change things the way you want in the future. And that's what the family is all about. They want the next generation to leave their imprint.

"So we all make mistakes, and one of the biggest issues I had was I always felt my dad did everything 100 percent properly for awhile until I realized there may have been great intentions, but the results weren't exactly what we wanted. That was when I was able to start learning to run the business on my own."